PITTSBURGH – Charlie Brenneman was a winner even before he stepped into the cage at Sunday’s UFC on Versus 4 event.

After a series of events left Brenneman without an opponent and the event without a headliner, the hometown hero stepped in on a day’s notice against red-hot welterweight Rick Story.

That decision made him fearless. A crowd-rousing walkout made him a local favorite. And his eventual victory made him nothing short of a legend, UFC president Dana White told MMAjunkie.com (www.mmajunkie.com).

Brenneman, a Pennsylvania native who fought at Pittsburgh’s CONSOL Energy Center, was yanked from the card earlier this week when opponent T.J. Grant fell ill. But there was a glimmer of hope for the “Spaniard,” who desperately wanted to fight close to home.

Although details remain murky, UFC officials clearly knew a scheduled headliner between Story and Nate Marquardt was in jeopardy. Just today, the Pennsylvania State Athletic Commission’s Gregory Sirb confirmed that some undisclosed issue with Marquardt raised concerns a full six weeks ago. And though Marquardt assured both commission and UFC officials the matter would be resolved, it wasn’t.

Instead, just prior to Saturday’s weigh-ins, Marquardt was pulled from the card and ultimately released by the UFC. Whatever the offense, it incensed White, who said he was “disgusted” by the way Marquardt – a usually model employee – handled the situation.

But for every apparent bad apple, White said there are dozens of saviors.

“It’s the way these guys are,” White said. “I was sitting next to (Pittsburgh Steelers head coach) Mike Tomlin tonight, and one of the things he was saying was that the reason he loves the UFC so much is because we make the fights. The fights always get made.

“You’re pumped to come see a card, the first time ever in Pittsburgh. Bad things happen, but we still put it together. … It’s not just the UFC. It’s these guys stepping up the plate and seizing the opportunities.”

No one seized his opportunity more than Brenneman (14-2 MMA, 3-1 UFC). While a swell fellow, Brenneman has garnered little attention as he plugged away with a 2-1 record as a middle-of-the-pack UFC welterweight. But in a co-main event against Story (13-4 MMA, 6-2 UFC) – whose six-fight win streak had many in the industry discussing a potential title shot – Brenneman put in the fight of his life. The lifelong wrestler reverted to his base skills, scored key takedowns, controlled the action on the mat, and survived Story’s late rally for an improbable unanimous-decision upset.

White said filmmakers couldn’t have scripted it better. In fact, he soon made a comparison to another famous Pennsylvanian: Rocky Balboa.

“His fight tonight was a Rocky story,” White said of Brenneman. “He’s in his hometown, and he gets the shot at the guy who’s hot and on his way to a title shot. He comes in and wins it. That’s the thing about this sport. You never know who’s going to win.”

Brenneman admits the past week has been trying. He knew there was a possibility he could be called upon as a late replacement, and UFC officials told him he’d receive his “show” money only if he successfully made weight. (Basically, it was an insurance policy to assure Brenneman didn’t pack on the pounds once the Grant fight was scrapped.) Still, even as he arrived at weigh-ins, the possibility of actually fighting on the card seemed a bit farfetched.

“This whole week has been a roller coaster,” he said. “When we got to weigh-ins, I was told, ‘You may have to wait until 3:59, or you may not even know until tomorrow if you’re fighting.’ What can I do other than sit there and try to remain professional and do what I do? And, well, it worked out.”

Aside from Story and his followers, Brenneman’s victory was the fairy-tale ending to a crazy Steel City debut. Perhaps that’s the reason why White, who usually attends post-fight press conferences only for pay-per-view events, decided to swing by the post-show festivities. Just hours prior, he was on Versus’ pre-event show lambasting Marquardt and explaining how an already-struggling event had lost its headliner.

But later that night, he was talking about that same card’s new place in UFC history.

“I think this is one of the best cards we’ve ever, ever done,” a beaming White said.